A book, a Kickstarter campaign, and Twitter combine worlds in an effort to solve a 20 year old murder case.
Good Friday, April 1st, 1994, Hyacinth Dowell was gunned down in her Minneapolis apartment. The murder was never solved. 20 years later, Hyacinth’s sister, Beatrice Lily Dowell, and George Browning have 30 days to solve the mystery in order to save themselves from the same fate. When Lilies Last In The Bathtub Bloom’d, the first novel from author William Reynolds under his pseudonym, P. Everett Grail. When Lilies Last InThe Bathtub Bloom’d is a twisting, writhing romantic murder mystery currently promoted on the crowdfunding website, Kickstarter.com. The book is a whodunit that spills off the pages of fiction onto the landscape of crowdfunding and real time social media. Who killed Hyacinth Dowell? The answer is discovered over the course of 30 days as the book becomes self- aware and characters openly interact with the author, P. Everett Grail, and the worlds of Kickstarter and Twitter.
About the Book
One evening while browsing a website, Beatrice Lily Dowell (Lily) comes across a horrifying announcement on Kickstarter:
“Beatrice Lily Dowell and George Browning are to be murdered on Friday, February 13th”
As Lily and George investigate the Kickstarter campaign further, they discover they are the subjects of a book, When Lilies Last In The Bathtub Bloom’d. The book details the murder of Hyacinth Dowell, and the relationship of Lily and George. More importantly, the author, P. Everett Grail appears to be helping them solve the murder of Lily’s sister Hyacinth by warning Lily and George of impending doom. Shortly thereafter, people in their life begin to disappear. Frantic and in a heightened state of panic, Lily attempts to communicate with the author. When she discovers the author has a Twitter account, and has apparently reached out to her, she begins to tweet him/her/it.
“It’s a fictional murder mystery that jumps up off the pages and speaks to the real time audience of social media,” says Reynolds. “The Twitter exchanges are public. Anyone coming across the tweets between Lily and the P. Everett Grail might react the same way people did during the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds years back. It’s a performance that should feel like a real conversation.”
P. Everett Grail is integral to the plot development as are Lily and George. Grail has planted clues in the Kickstarter campaign that point to the identity of the killer. Clues can also be found in the Twitter exchanges between Grail and Lily.
Where to read the book
The book is available for download by clicking here. The book can be downloaded as a PDF or an ePub (fixed layout) format for Apple Devices. Kindle versions are available. Requests should be sent to peverettgrail@gmail.com. Reynolds chose a serial release of the book through Kickstarter in order to increase curiosity and suspense associated with such a venture. Every chapter of the book is available for download as they become available. 2 new chapters are made available every Wednesday and/or Thursday evening through the end of the Kickstarter campaign.
“I think it lends a greater element of tension. In real time, readers are in the same boat along with Lily and George. They can’t just skip ahead to the end to find out the butler did it. By the end of the campaign, they (Lily, George and readers) will have read the entire book except for the final chapter.”
Be warned. If you want to read the final chapter, you need to make a pledge on Kickstarter before the campaign ends on February 5th.
A pre-release copy of the final chapter will be delivered face to face on February 6thth, a full week before Beatrice and George are to be murdered, to one person willing to pledge for this sneak peek.
“It’s a fascinating dilemma for Lily and George and for readers as well. How can the final chapter describe events of the 13th a full week before they occur? This calls into question concepts of fate, pre-destination, and freedom of will”
The final chapter will be available for everyone to download beginning at 8:00 pm on Friday, February 13th.
More about Kickstarter and William Reynolds
Kickstarter campaigns operate under an “all-or-nothing” funding model. So far, Reynolds has hit his funding goal of $10,000 but he isn’t finished. His goal is to turn When Lilies Last In The Bathtub Bloom’d into a cultural phenomenon and a best seller. Be sure to follow the campaign on Twitter @PEverettGrail and make sure to spread the word to your social media networks. Consider donating as little as $1 to help his book become a best seller. If you decide to donate more, you might be among the first in the world to read When Lilies Last In The Bathtub Bloom’d.
If you’d like more information about the When Lilies Last In The Bathtub Bloom’d, or to schedule an interview with William Reynolds please email peverettgrail@gmail.com or send a Tweet @PEverettGrail.
William Reynolds studied Philosophy (B.A.) at Bethel University in Arden Hills, MN. He began his college career in pastoral studies, but was eventually distracted by the skepticism of David Hume and the nihilism of Friedrich Nietzsche. During the 1990’s, Reynolds owned, and operated a recording studio in Minneapolis. He went to work for his father’s packaging company in 2001, and in 2003 began his career in book publishing. When Lilies Last In The Bathtub Bloom’d is his first novel.
